Mikuláš and the Role of Coal

By the Kajman ©2019 (“Konverzace v anglickém jazyce, man!“)

Have you been good this year? Is Mikuláš going to give you some chocolate, or maybe some oranges? If so, best of luck to you. You don’t want the devil to give you a potato or, worse, a lump of coal do you?

I do. That’s right, after consulting the devil’s economist I have dispensed with all morality and started to follow the stock markets.

Before deciding that you are going to be good in order to appease old St. Nick, take a good look at the relative values of all the products available. That is to say, what is more valuable – chocolate, oranges, potatoes, or coal? If you see good trading prices on coal, then you’d better reconsider being good if you want the devil to deliver you a black lump or two.

Of course, the question is – what will the relative values of these commodities be on December 6th, exactly? If you discover that coal is up, then it’s too late to start misbehaving now if you’ve thus far been goody-two-shoes all year. No, you’ve got to take the long view and follow the rises and falls of the stock market, and make a prediction months in advance about which direction prices are going.

Another tip from the economist: St. Nick cares about the environment and is said to be divesting his fossil fuel investments, so there may be a glut of coal being handed out no matter how good you think you’ve been. Not to worry – sell your coal and buy all the oranges and chocolate you can eat!